His research: "I study the fossil record of North American mammals, to understand how mammalian 'communities' are assembled and how they respond to major environmental changes at the macroevolutionary time scale of millions of years."

Why paleontology? "I love the science of paleontology, partly because of its magical appeal of 'breathing life' into plants and animals that have been dead for millions of years, and because it connects me to the times and places in the Earth's history when and where these plants and animals were thriving. Most importantly, I believe studying the history of life through the fossil record is absolutely essential for us, to understand the dynamics of the biodiversity on our planet that we all marvel at and strive to preserve for the future."